Forever Young
by muppetmadness
Summary: Based on the song Forever Young by Alphaville. A series of scenes from the lives of the Marauders from the end of seventh year to after they have died. Pre DH. James/Lily, Remus/Tonks, unrequited Sev/Lily. Please read and review. Please.


**A/N: First off, neither the lyrics nor the characters are mine. The characters belong to J.K. Rowling and the lyrics are from the song Forever Young by Alphaville. The idea for using this song came from a video on youtube so thanks to whoever's video that was. Each scene, separated by --, relates to a line of the verse above it. There are no scenes for the chorus. Feel free to tell me if any of the lyrics are at all wrong.**

_Let's dance in style, let's dance for a while  
Heaven can wait we're only watching the skies  
Hoping for the best but expecting the worst  
Are you going to drop the bomb or not?_

--

Sirius Black grinned, as he watched his best friend dance with his new bride. Lily laughed, as James whirled her round and round the dance floor and Sirius remembered a time when Lily would have died rather than go anywhere near his scruffy, mischievous friend.

They were out of Hogwarts now, and things weren't as simple as they had once been. The lines that had separated good from bad had blurred, and things were rarely as they seemed anymore. Deciding that a wedding was no place to reflect on such serious thought, Sirius leapt to his feet and strode over to where his friend was dancing.

"May I have this dance, fair maiden?" he asked, sweeping into a low bow before snatching Lily's hand from James' and kissing it lightly.

Lily laughed. "You may, kind sir, as long as you promise to return me to my husband at the end of it."

"Of course I will Lily, after all, the speeches are next and I am planning on going first," Sirius tossed a wink at James and began leading Lily across the floor in a dramatic tango, ignoring the fact that the music was for a waltz.

"You see, my darling, I have always been a much better dancer than James, loath as he is to admit it. He just doesn't have the grace for such an activity."

"And you do?"

"Of course." Sirius dipped Lily low and she wandlessly conjured a red rose and placed it between his teeth. Grinning, they continued to dance until the music finally drew to a close.

"Go, return to your husband, for it is time for my speech," Sirius declared wickedly before running to the stage and casting a sonorous spell.

"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the wedding reception of James and Lily Potter. As best man, it is my job to thoroughly embarrass James and, if possible, Lily too. So, I will begin by simply saying that I never thought this day would come. I remember a day, not so long ago, when Lily called James an 'arrogant toerag' and told him she would rather kiss the giant squid than go on a date with him. All I have to say is: Lily, what were you thinking? The giant squid?"

The audience laughed and Sirius continued with his speech, telling them about incidents that had happened with either of the newly married couple, or indeed both, remembering all the events that had happened in their friendship to bring them to this point. Finally, he concluded his speech.

"Lily, you are the luckiest woman in the world because you have my best friend in the world as your husband. He is the best man I know, he always been there for me, through thick and thin and I know he will do the same for you. He will love you until his dying day and beyond it. James, you've finally got the girl of your dreams, don't mess it up and don't forget about your friends who coached you through many a disastrous date. This is it guys, the real thing, life. I wish you happiness in everything that is to come."

--

James walked down the steps and into the back garden of his ancestral home, placing the two mugs of tea that he was holding onto the top stair when he say his friend lying on the grass, staring up at the sky.

"What are you doing?" he asked, sitting down next to him.

"Stargazing. You know, I've studied Astronomy for five years, half my family are named after constellations and I still have no idea what any of the constellations are."

"And that is why I am married and you are still single. Girls love guys who can point out constellations to them; they think it's romantic. For example, that is Sirius, the dog star, that is Andromeda and that is the bear," James remarked, pointing to each set of stars.

"Yeah, romantic bullshit. I'm the one who had the most girlfriends at Hogwarts."

"You had girlfriends?" James joked. "I can't seem to remember that. Are you sure that you aren't talking about all the girls who you made out with for a week and then got bored with."

"Yeah, those ones."

"We're not in Hogwarts anymore Sirius."

"I know, it totally sucks. We start Auror training tomorrow, it's going to be hell."

"We have to learn how to fight, especially now that war is looming."

"Yeah, that sucks too."

"We'll stop it, save lives, all that stuff. Together. We'll be the best Auror team that this country has ever seen."

"Can't things just stay the way they are right now? Tomorrow, we have to grow up and get jobs and save the world. Tonight, let's just have fun. Unless the missus won't let you," Sirius joked, dancing away from his friend's fist as James reached out and fake-punched him.

"C'mon, let's go out," James said, rising to his feet before pulling Sirius up. "Tomorrow is still a few hours away."

--

Three men sat outside a hospital room at St. Mungo's, staring at the door.

"What happened?" Remus asked, his voice slightly rough.

"I'm not entirely sure, something to do with a flying bike. Or at least, that's what I think the nurse at the front desk said."

"Sounds like something Sirius would do. He's been in there for a long time. Do you think he's OK?" Peter asked nervously, looking at James.

"I don't know; I hope so." James' voice was dull and he still hadn't looked away from the door.

"He will be, I'm sure of it," Remus asserted, though the way he was repeatedly looking at his watch and then up at the door again betrayed his lack of confidence in what he was saying.

"Yeah, I'm sure that he's fine. He's probably in there flirting with all the young mediwitches while we worry outside."

James laughed slightly, "I can imagine that."

Suddenly, the double doors in front of them opened and a mediwizard in white robes came out. He quickly walked over to the men, who stood upon his approach.

"Are you the family of Sirius Black?"

"Yes," James answered quickly. "We're his brothers."

The mediwizard only raised one eyebrow and looked questioningly at Remus, before telling them what had happened to Sirius. Apparently, he had attempted to fly a new flying motorbike without having any lessons first. As could be expected, it didn't go well. At first, he seemed to be successfully navigating the roads around his flat so he then attempted to fly, that's where it all went wrong. The idiot, or patient as the mediwizard had actually called him, had tried to clear the wall at the dead end of an alley, but had missed his target slightly and, in an attempt to avoid collision with the wall, had only hit another wall and then landed on the large, metal dustbins that happened to be beneath him. He had injured his back, and broken an arm and a leg. The reason it had taken such a long time was because they hadn't been certain of the extent of damage to his back, luckily it had only been small and they had managed to heal him completely. In a few days he should be out of the hospital and it was recommended that before he attempted another motorcycle ride he learnt how to ride one. With these wise words the mediwizard walked off, leaving the men to visit their friend.

On entering their friends' hospital room, they found that Remus' prediction had, in fact, been correct. Sirius was surrounded by a group of attractive mediwitches who all appeared to want to take care of him. He saw his friends enter the room and smiled at them before mouthing, "Sometimes, I love my life" at them and making them all laugh.

--

"Guys I have something pretty serious to tell you," James began at their usual Friday night poker game.

"Was the pun intended there?" Sirius joked.

"No, this is major Sirius."

"OK James, we're listening."

And listen they did, as James told his that Lily was pregnant, only the news wasn't half as happy as it seemed. As a muggleborn who was part of the Order and married to a pureblood from an important family, Lily was already at risk from Voldemort. It was too dangerous for Lily to remain in England whilst pregnant. If something happened, Lily wouldn't be able to protect herself to the best of her ability, and with that magic surges that often came with magical pregnancies she could be attacked whilst completely vulnerable. James and Lily had asked to be reassigned somewhere far from the front line as soon as they had discovered her pregnancy, what they hadn't realised at the time was exactly how far that would be. At this point in James' story, Sirius interrupted.

"Exactly how far do you mean?" he asked.

"We're going to America Sirius, to Florida to be precise. We'll be acting as liaison workers there, helping to transport witches and wizards who felt at risk in England, but didn't want to fight, to a place of safety. It's a big job but we think that it will really help some people and, most importantly, Lily won't be in danger."

"We understand James, we really do. This child is important, hopefully the first of many. It's just, America is so far away," Remus gently told James.

"You can come visit us, and we won't be there for any longer than a year."

"Just promise that you won't forget about me and the rest of the Marauders," Sirius pleaded, trying to smile.

"Like I could ever forget you," James said, smiling sadly.

Sirius got up and went to James to embrace him tightly. His movement prompted the others to action and soon Remus and Peter joined in, whispering words of good luck in James' ear and clapping him on the back.

--

_Let us die young or let us live forever  
We don't have the power but we never say never  
Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip  
The music's for the sad men_

--

"America is such an old place," Sirius complained.

"It's not really. Florida is though, at least out of the cities. A lot of Americans move south to retire," James explained, sitting down on the porch steps next to his friend and handing him a beer.

"To die you mean," Sirius said bitterly. "I am so sick of death."

"What is it like over there?" James asked.

"It's like, all of a sudden, the world is at war and no one can do anything about it. I mean, we all try, but the number of dead is rising every day and it isn't going to stop until _he_ is stopped. It's crazy."

"I wish I could help more, but Lily's due date is soon."

"You're doing as much as you can. You're giving people a place to escape to. For so many, it seems like there are only two options, especially for young people. Die young, or be a Death Eater and live forever. It's no wonder so many are tempted. You give them a third option though and everyone is grateful for that."

Just then there was a commotion from inside and Lily cried out. The men looked at each other and then ran inside to find Lily on the floor in a small pool of liquid. She looked up at them with scared eyes.

"I think my water just broke."

--

Sirius watched his friend with envious eyes as James entered his old home with his family. Sirius followed them into the house and into the living room. Harry began to cry and Lily left the room to change his nappy and left James and Sirius alone.

"Sometimes I wish I could have what you two have," Sirius suddenly said.

James looked at him in confusion and Sirius sighed and explained. "You have love and a family and a child, the whole shebang. I don't have of that and I look at you sometimes and I want it all. Bet you never thought that you would hear Sirius Black saying that he wanted a wife and kids."

"Actually, I've been waiting for this day for years; I knew it would happen someday. It's just maturity catching up with you. With the war, you matured in some ways but the way you acted and your desires never really changed. I mean, you were a bit depressed, but you were still the same old Sirius. Maturity had to happen someday, I'm glad I was here to see you admit the fact."

"I will never get all that. I have absolutely nothing to offer a woman other than sex and a reputation for being the worst player Gryffindor has ever seen. No woman looking for marriage would ever come to me."

"I don't have the power to give you everything you want, only you do, but I can assure you that the woman you marry will not be looking for marriage, you'll just find it one day with each other. Besides, you should never say never. Anything is possible."

--

Lily Potter watched her son play in the sand pit with her husband's best friend, and felt a surge of pride and affection for both of them roll through her. She could already tell that her baby was going to be someone important and he was only nine months old. And Sirius, well he had suddenly become this mature, grown man since Harry's birth and she knew that their decision to make him Harry's Godfather was the right one. He was always looking out for him and caring for him and Lily knew that if ever anything happened to her and James, her son would be safe with him. She trusted him with her life and, more importantly, she trusted him with her son's.

She made the short trip over to the sand pit to collect them both just in time to hear Sirius say, "I will always protect you," to the small boy.

--

Remus Lupin sat in his house, on his own, listening to blues music. It was the night of the full moon, and Remus thought about the fact that, once again, he would be spending it alone. He remembered a time when he would never have to go through a lonely transformation, a time when his three best friends would be there every month no matter what was happening in their lives.

He could understand why Prongs and Wormtail weren't going to be there, but at the moment he wished Padfoot could be. James had a son now and he had to take priority over everything, even friends in need. Peter couldn't really help if he came alone, as his Animagus form was too small. Padfoot, however, could help, and didn't have anything else that he needed to do.

Remus knew the true reason no one was there for him. They thought he was the spy. They had stopped coming after the Order had discovered there was a spy in their midst, and he understood why. He was a werewolf, a creature that was, by nature, dark and vicious. Remus knew that most people thought this way, but he was hurt to discover that, when it really mattered, his friends felt the same way. He would never hurt any of them, they were his friends when he needed them the most at Hogwarts, and he was crushed that they didn't know him well enough to know this.

--

_Can you imagine when this race is won  
Turn our golden faces into the sun  
Praising our leaders were getting in tune  
The music's played by the madmen_

--

It was the end of another day, the end of another battle. Four men had died in front of him today - three on his side and one on theirs. He was an Auror and a member of the Order of the Phoenix, but he still could not stand the sight of death, even though he should have been used to it.

Sometimes he felt as though this war would never end, and that they would simply be picked off one by one until there was no one left to fight Voldemort. Sometimes he wondered if giving up now wouldn't be the most beneficial thing that they could do.

He couldn't remember a time when war wasn't looming or already going on. And he couldn't imagine what life would be like after the war. He and Lily could be like any other couple and Harry could grow up like an ordinary child, whatever that meant.

--

Sirius sat on the balcony of his London flat with the other Marauders. It was the last day before James and Lily were going to go into hiding, although only he and James knew this, and they were celebrating with a bottle of firewhiskey.

"I haven't seen all of you for a long time," Remus told them sincerely. "It's good to spend time with you."

"Yes," Peter agreed quickly, "we'll have to try to see each other more."

James and Sirius exchanged a furtive look before James said; "We definitely should do this more, maybe in a while, since I'm a bit busy right now with Harry. After all, just because there's a war going on, it doesn't mean we should all stop being friends."

Remus, who was now automatically feeling guilty for thinking bad thoughts about his friends, smiled sadly and agreed with James. "Best friends forever, right? That's what we promised at Graduation, we even carved it on that stair rail."

The group all smiled and laughed at the reminder of their last day at Hogwarts, which had been a loud and disruptive day, finishing with a final, huge prank on the teachers and the Slytherins.

"Do you remember how McGonagall came round the corner just after we had finished engraving it? I thought we would be dead for sure."

"I think that I almost had a heart attack. That happened a lot at Hogwarts actually," Peter joked.

"You always were the most scared out of all of us, Peter. You still managed to pull through every time though. And look at you now! I almost can't recognize you; you've been doing so much to help."

"We've all changed since Hogwarts, James, except maybe you. You're still in love with the same woman, you look exactly the same and you still ruffle your hair every time a certain young woman walks past. If she never cared how your hair looked before, she's not going to care now that you're actually married with a kid," Sirius joked.

"Hey! I'll have you know that she loves my hair! I still can't believe I'm the only one in a stable relationship. I mean, I know it's not exactly the best time, but in my biased opinion I'd have to say that you all seem like good catches to me!"

Remus laughed bitterly and said, "I don't think any of us ever really expected a different future where our love lives are concerned. You always were the most intense out of all of us when it came to relationships. Sirius is a player, I'm a werewolf and Peter never did work out how to talk to girls."

"Hey that's not true!" Peter protested as the rest laughed.

"Yes it is," James countered, chortling. "Besides Moony, Sirius is reforming and I'm sure there's someone out there for you."

"Oh yeah," Sirius agreed, still laughing. "I heard this really nice sounding she-wolf howling last full moon. Or there are always those weird girls with kinky werewolf fantasies."

"Sirius!" Remus yelled, conjuring a pillow and throwing it at him.

From that a huge pillow fight ensued and, eventually, they all fell asleep. Sirius woke up a few hours later due to someone stirring and, upon opening his eyes a slit, saw James standing on the balcony, watching as the sun rose and lit his face.

--

"To be honest, Remus I'm surprised all five of you survived this length of time. You're still young and plenty of older Order members and Aurors have already died," Dumbledore said kindly to the young man in question.

"Well it's pretty clear why. We've all had excellent training, Hogwarts ensured that much and Moody did all the rest. And we're also quite lucky."

"But you and Peter aren't even trained as Aurors!" McGonagall protested.

Remus gave a dry laugh, "Yes, we didn't get in. If you think about it though, we have had all the training, just not so that we can be Aurors. And the only test we have had to pass is war."

"Well war is the best test there is in some ways. It tests the character of a person: how someone acts during war is their true nature."

"That's true. Hopefully this war will prove us worthy of your kind praise, sometimes I don't feel worthy of it, and sometimes I think I have survived on luck alone. I have the midnight shift so I really must go to bed. Goodnight Headmaster, Professor," Remus got up and left the room.

"Goodnight Remus, and please, call me Albus," Dumbeldore called out after him before frowning and rubbing his wrinkled brow. He had no idea if Remus was the spy or not.

--

"Happy Halloween, sweetie," Lily said to James, grinning.

"Harry's first Halloween with us."

Just then there was a flare of silver light and an odd beeping noise from an instrument that was sitting on the mantelpiece and they both looked at it. A feeling of fear hit James in the stomach, as he looked at his wife and child.

"Lily, take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off-" James began to plead.

Lily opened her mouth to protest, but was silenced by the look in his eyes. She picked up Harry and with one last look at James, fled the room.

She made it into the corridor before the front door burst open, and the Death Eaters began flooding into the room. As she ran up the stairs towards the fireplace in their bedroom she saw James shooting off spells in every direction. And then Voldemort came in, laughing a sick high-pitched laugh. There was a flash of green light and Lily realized her husband was dead.

She made it to the fireplace only to discover that the floo network was down. She couldn't apparate with Harry; it could kill him. The Death Eaters entered the room and she saw that one was moving in a very familiar swooping way. Her eyes locked on him rather than his master as she pleaded for her son's life.

"Not Harry! Not Harry! Please – I'll do anything-"

His stone cold black eyes seemed almost to contain tears as he snarled, "Stand aside, stand aside, girl."

She shook her head, refusing to move except to curl further around her child and, with a flash of green light, knew no more.

--

_Forever young, I want to be forever young  
Do you really want to live forever, forever and ever  
_

--

_Some are like water, some are like the heat  
Some are a melody and some are the beat  
Sooner or later they all will be gone  
Why don't they stay young_

--

Sirius arrived at Godric's Hollow to find the house he had spent so much of his childhood in a smouldering wreck with the Dark Mark hanging above. The bare frame of the house still hissed as the rain hit it. A feeling of dread filled Sirius as he walked through the doorway. A sob overcame him as he saw the almost unrecognisable body of his best friend, lying distorted in the front room. Why would anyone do this to them? How could they? Wasn't it bad enough that they were all dead? He made his way up the surprisingly unharmed stairs, which the rain must have saved, and almost tripped over Lily's body.

Then he heard something that he thought must have simply been a dream coming from underneath Lily's body. He thought he heard a baby cry. And then he heard it again. He frantically rolled Lily's body over and revealed the crying form of Harry Potter. Stunned, not questioning how he had survived, Sirius picked up the baby and took him outside. He stood crying in the rain with Harry until Hagrid arrived. He wordlessly gave Hagrid the baby before collapsing in a heap on the ground.

"'Ow did 'e survive?" Hagrid asked.

"I don't know. I'm his Godfather, I'll take him."

"Dumbledore told me to take him to his relatives."

"No! I promised Lily and James I would look after him!"

"Dumbledore's orders."

"Fine," Sirius said, an idea forming in his mind. "Take my motorbike, I won't need it anymore."

"But you love that bike," Hagrid argued.

"Take it," Sirius ordered before softening his voice, "please. Goodbye Hagrid, take care of Harry for me."

With one last look at Harry Sirius disappeared with a pop.

--

Sirius sat in a small white room, which contained only a bed and a bucket. He could slowly feel himself going crazy in this jail cell. The Dementors seemed to like his cell more than any other; he supposed he had the most life and happy memories inside him. Everyone else here was miserable and had never had anything good happen to them. Or they had been here so long that they had lost their minds.

Sirius clung onto the thought of revenge as a man dying of thirst clings to water. His best friend was dead and he would get revenge on the man who had ratted him out. He was in jail for killing Peter Pettigrew and he would do so if it were the last thing he ever did.

Surrounded by people who hated him, accused by those he cared for of being a Death Eater, Sirius had no hope but he did have the truth to help him survive his damnation.

--

Remus piled up boxes in the attic of 12 Grimauld Place, unwilling to face the fact that he was now the last Marauder. Again. If he stopped and allowed himself to think then he would just feel lonelier, so he couldn't stop.

He picked up a box and automatically moved to check what it contained. It was a box of photos, the first of which was of Sirius and Regulus when they were about ten. They were outside in the garden, playing in the brown and red leaves on the ground. Remus smiled sadly and leant against a nearby beam. They looked so young and happy.

Silent tears poured down the werewolf's face as he went through picture after picture of Sirius with his friends, family and girlfriends.

The Marauders had been like brothers to him when they were at Hogwarts. They had faced so many obstacles together but now he had to face an obstacle that was impossible to defeat and they weren't there to help him. How do you fight a war over an ideal when you have nothing to live for anymore? How can your greatest weapon be love when everything you love is gone?

--

War had come around again, and all that the Order could do was wait, and try to find out what the Death Eaters were planning. Another generation of children now had to grow up through a war. Hermione, Ron and Harry were a clear sign of what the war was doing to today's children. Like Remus, they had to grow up much too fast. They should still be giggling over the opposite sex and joking around, but instead they were preparing for war.

At least Hermione and Ron had had some chance to have a normal life. Ron even had a girlfriend now, although Remus did not know why he wasn't dating Hermione instead of Lavender. Harry, however, was under a lot of pressure at the moment. It seemed as though Dumbledore thought that the Final Battle was going to be very soon, and that he did not have enough time to teach Harry everything he needed to know. It was very worrying for Remus, he knew that Dumbledore tended to be right about everything and he didn't want the Final battle to be before Harry had even turned seventeen.

--

_It's so hard to get old without a cause  
I don't want to perish like a fading horse  
Youth is like diamonds in the sun  
And diamonds are forever_

--

"Are you sure about this?" the old man asked, tired and hoping for the opposite of what he knew was coming.

"Yes, I'm sure. I can't help in any other way. Let me do this, let me help," Remus half pleaded.

"Why do you feel that you aren't helping anyone? You're helping a lot of people with what you already do."

"Don't lie to me Albus, I know that I'm not respected and can't go out and find new recruits, and there aren't any battles for me to fight in."

"You will have to suffer so much if you do this."

"I have suffered all my life, it won't be anything new. At least this way I will feel as though my suffering is for a reason. This is my cause as well as yours. I want to fight for it, just as all my friends have."

"All your friends are dead!"

"At least they died protecting what they loved the most! I would be honoured to die as they have."

"So that's the real reason you want to go on this suicide mission. You want to die."

"No, I want to have a reason to live."

--

Remus took a drag of his cigarette as he watched Dumbledore's funeral pyre burn. The colours contrasted sharply against the rapidly darkening backdrop of the sky over the great lake. It was a depressing sight to see, but it was still invigorating in a strange, abstract way. Seeing that death could come to someone who everyone had almost thought immortal and completely invincible made Remus feel that his death was much closer than he had previously thought.

Although Remus had always thought that death would be a well-deserved rest after his hard and painful life, he had suddenly realised that he deserved more joy in his life than his long since past friendship with the Marauders. He had punished himself for so long and he didn't even know why. If he had to die in this war, he would at least make sure that he actually lived during the end of his life. He didn't have to stop living just because Sirius, James and Lily had, it wasn't what they would want and he decided that it wasn't what he was going to do anymore.

--

Remus Lupin walked down Oxford Street in a relatively good mood. It was summer, the sun was shinning, there had been no Death Eater attacks recently and he was in love.

Suddenly he saw something glistening brightly in a shop window to his right. A ray of sunlight had just penetrated through a cloud and the light had caught on a jewellery shop window. Mildly interested, he walked over to the shop and looked into the window. At the centre of the window display there were several engagement rings. One ring, to the bottom right hand corner of the display, caught his eye. It was white gold with a small pear cut diamond in the centre and two small pink stones on either side. It was elegant and beautiful. Enchanted, Remus entered the shop and, when approached by the saleswoman, asked to see the ring. As soon as he held it in his fingers he knew that it would be perfect for her. Taking a deep breath, he asked if he could buy the ring and gave his credit card to the woman.

"Have you been planning to propose long?" she asked casually, as she found a bag to put the ring box into.

"No, I actually just decided to. She'll love the ring and I love her."

Smiling, the woman handed him the bad and thanked him for shopping in the shop. As he left the shop he heard her whisper, "Good luck…you'll need it."

--

Tonks was keeping watch on board the Flying Dutchman, the ship that Durmstrang students used to travel in, while Remus and Krum slept in the Captain's cabin. They had been taking turns to stay up while the other slept so that there was no chance of them being caught off guard if Death Eaters attacked. They were transporting the last horcrux back to England from the Middle East and it was vital that the Death Eaters did not get their hands on it.

A gust of sudden wind from behind her made her made Tonks turn around. Standing behind her were five Death Eaters. She withdrew her wand from up her sleeve and shot a beam of light down through the deck and into the Captain's cabin.

"Um…oops?" she told the Death Eaters, wide eyed.

They began to advance towards her when there were two pops behind her.

"Hello boys," Remus greeted, smiling. "Now what could you be doing here."

**(A/N: Cue Pirates of the Caribbean theme tune)**

The Death Eaters all drew their wands and a fierce fight began. Although Tonks, Remus and Krum were outnumbered, they were by far the better fighters and it seemed as though they were gaining the upper hand with one Death Eater already stunned and one bound in the rigging.

"Tonks!" Remus suddenly cried out over the noise of spells being yelled from all corners of the ship.

"Yes?" she answered, stunning an attacking Death Eater.

Remus ducked a crucio and sent a hex back at the Death Eater he was fighting. "Will you marry me?"

Tonks span round to look at him. "Is this really the time to be asking that?"

"Yes," Remus said, walking towards her, "it's the perfect time. Nymphadora Tonks, I love you. Will you marry me?"

"You don't even have a ring!" Tonks yelled as she hurled a non-verbal hex at the Death Eater behind Remus' back.

"Actually, I do. I've been carrying it around for weeks." He withdrew the ring from an inside pocket and showed it to her. "So what do you say?"

"Yes! Fine! Now can we please finish this fight?"

Remus grinned and turned to face the remaining Death Eaters, pocketing the ring. "It would be my pleasure."

--

_So many adventures couldn't happen today  
So many songs we forgot to play  
So many dreams are swinging out of the blue  
We let them come true _

--

Remus Lupin took his last breath on the grounds of Hogwarts and watched as everything faded into black. He felt his spirit leave his body and travel through the darkness to a widening spot of bright white light. When he penetrated the light he saw his friends waiting for him.

Smiling, completely happy, he ran to them, noticing that all his pains and ailments were gone. He was running through a street that looked a lot like Diagon Alley. As he met them, he saw from the corner of his eye people who had been lost during the war. Dumbledore was there as well as Cedric Diggory, who he remembered from his teaching days, and Fred Weasley.

His friends stood together looking as they had during the prime of their lives. Gone were the shadows that had haunted Sirius' face after he had escaped from Azkaban and the scars that had lined James' face from his many battles as an Auror and Order member during the first war. But there was a new wisdom in their eyes now that had never been there before, as though they understood everything.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled, ecstatic with joy. "Took you long enough."

"I'd loved to have joined you sooner if it wasn't for that pesky cousin of yours," Remus joked, hugging his friends.

"I guess I've got something to thank her for then," Sirius said, smiling.

"I guess you do." Remus turned to James. "What about you Prongs? Got anything to say to an old friend? How's Lily doing?"

"Old? You're no older than I am. I've missed you; Sirius wanted to play pranks on innocent, unsuspecting people without you here to keep him acting sensibly. Lily's fine, she's at home waiting for us to get back. Dinner's at our house tonight."

"Haven't heard that for a while. Sounds nice, I remember how good a cook she was."

"She still cooks amazing food," James said, smiling fondly.

"So what have you been up to here? Where is 'here' anyway?"

Remus listened as his friends explained exactly how the magical afterlife worked and what they had been doing since their deaths.

"Why are we still in the middle of the street?" Remus asked once they had finished.

"We're waiting for someone."

"Who?"

"Me."

Turning, Remus saw his wife standing behind him, a smile on her face.

--

Tears slid down Andromeda's face as she watched the body of her daughter being lowered into the ground next to her son-in-law's grave. The ceremony had been beautiful, and people had been very kind to her in offering their condolences, but she saw and heard none of it. All she knew was that her daughter was gone and would never come back. She was not foolish enough to believe she would return as a ghost, she would remain with her husband, and he had so many people waiting for him in death that he wouldn't even consider returning. He loved his son but he was still lonely and his friends were waiting for him.

She picked up a blood red rose from the pile and threw it down into Tonks' dark grave. Harry came to join her at the graveside, adding a white rose to her red one.

"They're happy now," Harry said reassuringly.

"I know."

--

Harry groaned and rolled over, his eyes fluttering in his sleep. He sighed deeply and began to dream…

He was walking down Diagon Alley in London except the road didn't look exactly how it should. The scars that had marked the street after the war were gone. All traces of collapsed buildings and rubble were no longer there. There were even some shops that hadn't been in the street for years and some he didn't recognise at all. He passed wizards and witches dressed in robes that were so far out of fashion he was surprised they were staying together at all. One man was even wearing a ruff that was just like Nearly Headless Nick's.

Walking into Quality Quidditch Supplies he saw a very familiar face. Standing in one corner, looking at a broom maintenance kit was a man who was identical to Sirius in every way except one. He was much younger and carefree.

"Sirius?" Harry asked quietly but the man didn't seem to notice.

"There you go Sirius," the shopkeeper said to the man from behind him, handing him a broom shaped package. "Come back soon."

The man walked out of the shop with the package under one arm and Harry followed, frowning slightly in confusion. He watched as the man met another man outside the bookshop and as they together took a side street to a nearby house. They went into the house and Harry snuck in after them, theorising that these man could not see him.

Hearing noises coming from a lit room at the end of the corridor he was currently standing in, Harry entered the room to see Remus, Tonks, Sirius and his parents sitting around a table, talking and laughing with each other. He smiled slightly at the sight of the Marauders reunited and began to back out of the room.

James suddenly looked straight at him and asked, "Harry?"

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, immediately concerned at the sound of her son's name.

"I don't know; I just feel as though he's here."

Sirius frowned and called out, "Harry!"

…

"Harry? Harry! Wake up Harry!"

Harry suddenly woke up with a jolt to see Ginny shaking him and calling his name.

"You fell asleep," she informed him.

"I know, I dreamt…never mind, it's not important. What did you want?"

"The baby, he's kicking."

Harry placed his hand over her stomach and smiled as he felt his child kick.

"Love you Ginny."

"I love you too."

--

Sirius, James and Lily had watched the Final Battle from afar. They watched as young children and people they had known in life died and joined the ranks of the spectators. And then they watched as Harry battled Voldemort, knowing that the fate of the world depended on this fight and that Harry might not win. But he did. In a show of breathtaking bravery, Harry had risked everything and won.

As people cheered from behind them, Lily burst into tears. Sirius and James gauntly stared at Harry but no joy could be found on their faces.

"We let that happen," Lily finally whispered. "We should have stopped it from happening a long time ago. We could have prevented so many deaths if we had just done things differently."

"No," James broke in hoarsely. "We couldn't have done anything. A prophecy is a prophecy, they always come true."

"Only because we let them," Sirius muttered.

They continued watching as the remaining Death Eaters surrendered or ran and long after everyone had left the battlefield. The war was the over but they had each dearly paid for it.

--


End file.
